Taking a baby or an infant out in the open air for a walk or for sun-bathing is necessary err the baby or infant to grow up healthy. It is, however, very uncomfortable on one hand for a guardian of the baby or infant to hold or carry the baby or infant in the arms or on the back for a long time. On the other hand, it is not desirable for the health of a growing baby or infant to be kept in a stiff posture for a long time.
To cope with those problems, baby carriages have been developed and a number of excellent improvements have so far been worked out in those baby carriage.
In the past, those baby carriages for carrying babies, as represented by box-type bassinets, were not foldable. Recently, those baby carriages have been developed into baby carriages generally available on the market. That is, the baby carriages have been improved to make it possible to change the attachment position of the handle bar to the side of the baby carriage at the back of the baby or at the front of the baby or have been so designed as to be foldable or portable according to necessity. The folding of the baby carriage body has a double advantage in that the baby carriage is suitable for being stored in little space when it is put away in the home, and that the baby carriage is portable to make it possible to carry the baby carriages into public traffic means such as a bus. Accordingly, the present day circumstances demand baby carriages having the above-described mechanisms.
It is desired that the operation of the folding mechanisms should be suitable for the those having little knowledge of mechanical operation. However, up to now, most of the operation mechanisms are so rough that the mechanisms, such as a handle bar stoppage releasing mechanism, an unfolding maintenance mechanism and the like, formed in the vicinity of the lower portion of the handle bar should be operated by direct touching with the hand.
Recently, such baby carriages as shown in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 48866/1986, Japanese Utility Model Application Nos. 153808/1984 and 93385/1985 filed by the same applicant as that of this application, have been developed. The proposed baby carriages are so constructed that operation wire cables for releasing a cable mechanism for changing the erection position of the handle bar and for releasing a lock mechanism for maintaining the unfolded state are contained in a handle bar. The wire cables are lead out from the lower end portions of the handle bar and connected at their ends to a separately provided operation mechanism. Through the development, the troublesome work of operating various kinds of releasing mechanisms with the hand has become eliminated.
However, even in those cases, the respective end portions of the wire cables are exposed outside in the vicinity of the base end portions of the handle bar, and various kinds of releasing mechanisms are connected to the exposed ends of the wire cables. Accordingly, when the swinging operation for changing the erection position of the handle bar or the folding operation for folding the baby carriages is repeatedly carried out, the exposed portions may be injured by abrasion caused by contact with other members. Ultimately, there is a risk of causing malfunctions. Further, the exposed end of each of the wire cables in directly connected to the releasing mechanism attached to the body of the baby carriages. Accordingly, when the baby carriage is manufactured, it is impossible that a body and a handle bar completely separately prepared are coupled or assembled by means of screws or any other means. After the two members are coupled, the cables or the like should be connected thereto.
Furthermore, an improvement other than the above-described improvements has been carried out as follows.
Various kinds of mechanisms are installed in the handle. For example, a mechanism for folding the body of the baby carriage (a mechanism for maintaining and releasing the unfolded state) is installed in the handle bar. Such an improvement produces the necessity of enclosing various kinds so mechanisms in the handle of the handle bar. Because it is necessary to select the size of the handle corresponding to the enclosing requirement, the conventional member prepared merely by bending a tubular metal bar so as to be U-shaped cannot be used for the purpose sufficiently.